Vestal Still Waiting for Dairy Queen Restaurant on the Parkway

Nearly a year has passed since a town of Vestal councilman announced that a Dairy Queen would open at the site of a former Friendly's restaurant.

Stephen Donnelly posted a photo of the closed eatery on the Vestal Parkway on New Year's Day with a note stating the site "will be the future home of Dairy Queen."

In the Facebook message, Donnelly wrote "a date has not yet been established, but it will be in the near future!"

There's been no activity at the Friendly's site or at a neighboring property occupied by a closed Pizza Hut restaurant since the councilman made the Dairy Queen post.

The two parcels are owned by units of Visions Hotels - the Corning-based company that operates the Tru by Hilton hotel on a site just to the west.

Donnelly told WNBF News on Monday that he has "spoken at length" recently with the prospective Dairy Queen franchise operator.

Donnelly said the developers still are looking forward to opening a restaurant at the site. He said they are working with the restaurant's corporate officials to develop a "new timeline" for the project.

Visions Hotels paid $1 million for the former Friendly's and Pizza Hut sites in separate transactions before the Tru hotel opened in December 2019.

A Visions Hotels representative on Tuesday said he could not comment on the company's future plans for the properties.

Vestal town supervisor Maria Sexton recently told WNBF News that she still has heard nothing about a possible Dairy Queen project on the Parkway.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.